<p>so I am considering transferring from UNC to Sewanee. I am almost positive I would be happier at Sewanee, and it's one of the few schools that accepts spring transfers.</p>
<p>I'm OOS at UNC, have a 3.7 GPA currently, and in high school I had a 3.75 and got a 2180 on the SAT. So I'm basically positive that I would get in, I'm just not sure if it's worth accepting the drop in prestige.</p>
<p>Is Sewanee prestigious? Does it compete with UNC at all? I want to go to law school afterwards and don't want to ruin my chances. I've thought about applying to more competitive schools like Rice, Cornell, Amherst, Middlebury and NYU, but I just don't think I would be as happy at them as I would as Sewanee.</p>
<p>What matters more to you: being happy, or the prestige of the school? Sewanee does not have the name recognition of UNC, but if you’d be happier there, does it matter?</p>
<p>I think as far as law school is concerned, as long as you continue to get good grades, it should not matter. A note stating why you decided to transfer may be necessary though…don’t know the exact policy on that.</p>
<p>I am not a particularly strong fan of UNC but that is just me and my own particular viewpoints and general bias against large state schools. Most people at UNC love it and wouldnt consider going anywhere else, whether in-state or OOS. UNC is 85% in state kids and so it tends to be…well…like you would expect it to be for a school with 85% in-state kids. </p>
<p>That being said, I am not a big proponent of transfering from anywhere. Only in the most egregious cases or dire emergencies should one consider transfering. The “grass is greener” just isnt true most of the time. Do some kids transfer successfully and feel happier? yes. But I suspect that most are just mouthing those words and in reality its a subjective problem. </p>
<p>Going from UNC to Sewanee is a huge difference. Sewanee is a great school. But its insular and remote and not very diverse. Not that that is bad, its just different. What it does offer you, perhaps, is less bureaucracy, smaller classes, closer relationships with professors and maybe more people on campus. But you lose the sports you get at UNC. Its also a lot more expensive than UNC, even for OOS kids. </p>
<p>You are doing very well at UNC, so it begs the question? Why do you want to leave and spoil a good thing? </p>
<p>If its a personal situation, like the break up of a relationship, or if you are chasing a relationship at Sewanee, then you better look yourself in the mirror and have “the talk” about growing up. If its the former, then you will get over it and time heals all wounds, pardon the pun. If its the latter, then I also question your thought process, as its never a good idea to move for a relationship…that could blow up and you would regret it. </p>
<p>Otherwise, this move doesnt make much sense to me at all.</p>
<p>I’m from the North and I know Sewanee is a mainly southern school, but, in my mind at least, UNC is much much much more prestigious than Sewanee.
If my child wanted to transfer from UNC to Sewanee, I would actually refuse to pay for it.
Basically, I think it is a terrible idea.</p>
That is asinine.<br>
Go wherever you would be happier.
If you are going to law school and do great at Sewanee you will get into a great law school. Again, go wherever you would be happier. UNC is not that much better than Sewanee and you are planning to go to law school anyway.</p>
<p>I have a daughter who is a freshman at Sewanee. She was also accepted at the Universties of Oregon, Colorado and South Carolina. Admittedly these schools do not carry the same prestige as UNC but for her it was more about the right fit. I think she has really liked the sense of community among students, faculty and administrators. We live in the southeast, and I think that at least in this region Sewanee is well-regarded and has the advantage of enthusiastic and helpful alumni. If you do decide to transfer I think Sewanee would be a fairly easy place to gain traction and make new friends.</p>
<p>Really! Are you serious? I’ve helped two nephews and two sons search for schools, until 6 months ago, (after joining this board), I had never heard of Sewanee. As far as law school, if you think that a 3.7 from Sewanee is going to carry anywhere near the same weight as a 3.7 from UNC your are in for a very big, disappointing, surprise.</p>
<p>Are you familiar with grade deflation? UNC is a great school no doubt, but I think it is a little bit misguided that UNC would help you so much more. Sewanee is a very highly regarded school. Just because you never heard of it doesn’t mean anything. In fact, that speaks more about your knowledge of colleges than it does Sewanee’s reputation.</p>
<p>Wilmingtonwave has a negative attitude towards UNC in general, judging by his previous posts. I would take anything he/she says about UNC with a large grain of salt. UNC is much better than Sewanee.</p>
<p>One of my friends daughters spent her freshman and sophomore years in college at WashU. She did well but she didn’t like it (it was too big and too far away from home), so she transfered to Sarah Lawrence. She liked it much more, but late when she spoke about it, she said it was a poor decision (she ended up not getting into law school straight out of college and had to wait a few years while interning). Going “wherever you would be happier” isn’t always a good idea in the long run. </p>
<p>A degree from UNC is worth more to 99 percent of the country than a degree from Sewanee. </p>
<p>If you want to live in TN or Alabama as an adult, then go for it. But otherwise stay at UNC.</p>
Yeah, I really dislike UNC. That is why I am applying there for graduate school. And that is why I consider UNC the third best public in the country behind UVA and William and Mary. Please, do not tell me what I think.</p>
<p>collegemom8, I am skeptical of using anecdotal evidence, such as one of my friends sister’s cousins, etc. etc. Sewanee is the number 36 ranked LAC. </p>
<p>I am not bashing UNC. I am just saying that if you are unhappy at UNC, Sewanee is not that worse. There is a much bigger difference between WashU and Sarah Lawrence than UNC and Sewanee. You all are acting like UNC is as prestigious as Harvard or Yale. UNC is undoubtedly better, but transferring ot Sewanee is not like mortgaging the entire future.</p>
<p>willmingtonwave, get real! UNC trumps Sewanee by an extremely wide margin. I’m not sure why people on this thread are understating this but academics at UNC are just far superior than that of Sewanee. Not to mention, the number of students UNC sends to law, medical and business schools are far greater as well. Sorry but sooner or later you must face reality.</p>
<p>I also agree wholeheartedly with collegemom88.</p>
This was never my point. UNC is better than Sewanee as an institution, yes we all get that. You all are acting like Sewanee is chopped liver, it is a very good school too, albeit not as good as Chapel Hill. This is frankly a waste of my time. Best of luck to the OP.</p>
<p>No, but you make it seem like UNC and Sewanee are in close tiers and not too far away from being peers when in reality, they actually are far apart.</p>
<p>“UNC is not that much better than Sewanee and you are planning to go to law school anyway.”</p>
<p>I think willmingtonwave’s point was your undergrad school doesn’t play a HUGE role in law school admissions; the only thing that law schools care about is your GPA and your LSAT. And, if you’re on going to law school, it might be better to have a more focused undergrad education that would be much easier to find at Sewanee.</p>
<p>Both UNC and Sewanee are well-respected academic institutions, and you should just go to whichever makes your happier, which, as you said, would be Sewanee. The usual debates of “which is better?!?!?” (which was NOT the original question) are irrelevant, because OP plans on law school. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for clarifying everything, Scrivener, you are becoming the voice of reason on these threads! I am with Willmingtonwave on this one, good luck applying to UNC for graduate school, Willmingtonwave!</p>
<p>I have no opinion on Sewanee vs UNC, but I am not sure the OP should hang everything on the “I’m going to law school anyway” hook. Best laid plans and all that…In these economic conditions, and without details on how many credits the OP has completed, law school is not a sure thing. </p>
<p>I agree with Vinceh, there’s really not enough info here to give advice.</p>
Although perhaps not as much as the majority of CC thinks, prestige/difficulty of school does matter in terms of grad school placement. Now whether Sewanee is completely distant from UNC-CH is debatable, but UNC-CH is the more prestigious university and if I were the OP, I would just stick out those next few years unless you truly are unhappy there. Transferring is a cumbersome process that really isn’t worth it for a slightly “improved” collegiate experience IMO.</p>
<p>I want to go to UGA law school after college (I’m a GA resident, so it’s the best deal there is). I feel like Sewanee would have a good enough pull to get into UGA law, especially considering my LSAT will be the same at either school. Also, I live in Chattanooga (just outside of it, right on the GA line) and would love to return there after college. If not there I don’t see myself going much further than Atlanta/Nashville, so I don’t think the prestige of Sewanee is too much lower than UNC in those areas.</p>